Island Girl Nail Color: Island Paradise

I'm way behind in my nail swatch posts so here's another summer swatch although we're well into autumn down here!

 

Island Paradise from US brand Island Girl is a magenta purple cream and just so damn pretty without being cutesy. I was pretty much obsessed with it over summer so it made it onto my toes as well as fingertips and I look forward to wearing it again when spring comes around.  In terms of application this was average - in all fairness this is an inexpensive polish - and care is needed for even coverage.  Still the result is worth it for the colour alone! This is two coats with top coat.

Sun

Shade

This makes me dream of another trip to Hawaii...

Until next time!


Island Girl Nail Color: Mahalo Color

Being the last day of summer down here in Melbourne I have no choice but to post the most summery nail swatch I can find!

 

When I was in Hawaii last year I finally came face to face with the Island Girl range of polishes and despite the vast array of summery colours I was uncharacteristically disciplined and only chose two.  For whatever reason I was suffering nail polish fatigue but these things happen.  In any case...

 

Mahalo Girl is one of those obvious picks for a beachside mani or pedi as it's a neon watermelon pink and instantly sets off or gives the impression of a tan.  While some neon polishes can be quite sheer and demand a white polish base this polish was as opaque as the average non-neon variety so I got away with two coats for complete coverage.  If only I knew that back in Hawaii I may have reconsidered my conservative shopping and grabbed a few more! An excuse for a return visit perhaps? *winks* 

 

Shade

 

 

Sun

 

Is there anything you regret not buying on holiday?

 

 



Hawaii Beauty Buys: The Drugstore Edit

All of my Australian readers will know that drugstore shopping is disproportionately expensive down here (which was one of the reasons I was on a drugstore ban during my beauty diet, knowing that I would be going to the US this year). Okay...so fast forward to Hawaii, USA where everything suddenly becomes so much more affordable! My Hawaii trip wasn't quite the laidback beach bum experience I was expecting - it was more of a whirlwind trying to squeeze in all the sightseeing as my husband shared some memories of his past trips - so all of my drugstore beauty shopping was crammed into a single trip to Walgreens and a couple of visits to the corner ABC store.  Now, the corner ABC store is a literal concept as ABC stores seem to be on every corner, sometimes even on opposite corners in Waikiki but I digress.  I'm here to talk about the makeup!

Onto the Walgreens expedition first - I filled my basket with items from Wet n Wild, L'Oreal, Covergirl and NYX, plus some Halloween candies for a grand total of 55 USD!  Aussie girls will know that's a pretty good deal...

 

 

Wet n Wild

• Wet n Wild Color Icon Eye Shadow Trio (Silent Treatment) - I have a much loved little collection of these trios and I've long been after Silent Treatment.  Wonderful Larie shipped one out to me last year but the taupe eyelid shade sadly crumbled during the long trip from Seattle so I grabbed another as soon as I saw it! You can the see the super soft taupe has started to crumble again so I will have to baby this little palette. 
• Wet n Wild Color Icon Eye Shadow Palette (Floral Values) - I seen mixed reviews on these newish quint palettes but at $3.99 (a quint for $3.99?!) I was prepared to take the risk because I love the spring appropriate shades.

L'Oreal

 

• L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow (Eternal Sunshine) - These babies sell at around $19.95 each in Australia so at 8.49 USD this was a bargain.  I could have chosen more than the golden Eternal Sunshine but had a feeling of déjà vu about some of the shades - the names were different but they looked like what I have at home so I resisted.
• L'Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Waterproof Mascara (Black) - I bought this because waterproof mascara I'd packed had dried out during the trip.  I love the soft, flexy brush but the mascara formula hasn't completely wowed me.  It's a reliable waterproof formula but I'm not getting those feathery doll-like lashes I thought I would!

 

Covergirl

I spotted some interesting nail polish shades in the Covergirl display that I haven't seen in Australia so I chose from left to right:  Salt Water Taffy, Seared Bronze, and Inferno. 

 

NYX

 

• NYX Mosaic Powder Blush (Rosey) - I love my Plummy Mosaic Powder Blush a lot so I decided on warm pink toned Rosey for a spring/summer version.
• NYX Matte Lipstick (Shocking Pink) - It's so hard to choose lipstick when there aren't any testers so I chose just one of these lipsticks to try because I've heard great things about them.  At 5.99USD compared to 12.99AUD I sort of wish I'd bought more shades.  Since researching the shades and swatches on Pinterest I wish I'd added Indie Flick (orange-red) to my basket too.

**************************************

 



Onto the ABC store...

 

As I said ABC stores are everywhere - and they sell pretty much everything too from food and drinks, clothes, souvenirs and of course cosmetics including the local nail polish brand Island Girl.

Island Girl

• Island Girl Nail Color - I was so disciplined around nail polish this trip!  I kept my selections down to just two shades:  Island Paradise (mid tone neon purple) and Mahalo Color (neon pink).   
• Island Girl Scented Cuticle Oil Mini Pack - The teeny bottles filled with natural dried flowers were too cute to pass up!

 

I have one last instalment to go and then I'm done.  Be warned I did get a little carried away in Sephora...